Why we must reboot our schools

Children play at Marshall Elementary on Thursday, March 23, 2017, in San Francisco.

Photo: Santiago Mejia, The Chronicle

Baby Boomers were raised in an analog world and experienced the dawn of a digital domain. We Boomers grew up with limited access to information, and a greater appreciation for hierarchy and long-term career planning. Millennials and Generation Xers grew up with immediate access to information, with connections and comfort engaging online with people across the world. It’s the difference akin to watching a movie on VHS versus streaming it on Netflix.

If we can reorganize our schools to better mirror our day-to-day lives, formal learning will become more relevant and desirable to our students, and the school environment as a workplace will become more appealing to our teachers.

To respond to the changing expectations of the young digitally native workforce, many companies have shifted to flat organizations, flexible hours and work locations, and integrated work-life environments. Public schools, however, have not. That is hurting both teachers and learners.

Why? Because the ways we serve students goes against the grain of how they engage with the world. Schools across the country need to reboot and evolve their operating system to better meet the needs of today’s learners and teachers. This type of school might look radical compared with what we have now, but imagine a school without:

•Grade levels based upon age. Instead, grades levels would depend on mastery of subject matter.

•Bells telling students when it’s time to put down history and start math and teachers when and what they should teach.

•Seat time that requires how long a student needs to be learning or not learning.

Before the digital revolution, information access was limited and knowledge was transferred at a slower rate. Teaching with grade-level progression, teacher guides and rigid bell schedules matched that everyday environment.

Today’s young workforce and students grew up in a world in which organizations were transparent, initial social relationships were online, and their voice was valued as much as anyone else’s in social-media comments. As they consider career opportunities, younger workers are opting not only for higher compensation, but for more choice and voice in how, when and where they work.

Schools are facing a teacher shortage because they cannot compete with other industries. Working conditions in other industries suit young workers better, and the pay is higher. The workday experience for a teacher seems rigid while the workday experience for professionals in other industries is becoming more flexible. We’ve all heard of companies that:

•Allow employees to come to work anytime they want.

•Offer employees free meals at the office.

•Organize work spaces with open floor plans for transparency and free-flowing communications.

•Extend employees unlimited vacation days.

What if students could choose which teachers they wanted at a school, similar to college, in which one psychology class has 500 students and another has 50?

What if teachers had to figure out how and when to meet with students and the school building was open more hours? Think of it as a community center for learning.

Radical change is often hard and seemingly impossible until we make it a goal.

Anthony Kim is the founder and CEO of Education Elements and author of the “Personalized Learning Playbook, Why the Time is Now.” He lives in San Francisco.